Yours loyally, Elisabeth.

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Today I spent nearly an hour online, signing up for loyalty cards.

As a university student, it seems I am pretty much obligated to be broke for most of this year. However, I’m not so keen on this idea, having things I need to pay for (ok, mostly WANT to pay for – I still live at home). So my solution?

ALL THE LOYALTY CARDS.

I already had Flybuys, Priceline, Cinebuzz and my personal favourite, Boost, and today I added Everyday Rewards, MyerOne, Strandbags and Dymocks. Perhaps most alarmingly, I actually found myself reading an article on the A Current Affairs website about the best loyalty cards. For shame, Liz. A Current Affair? For shame.

But I have to admit there is something sort of addictive about lovely shiny plastic cards saving you money, even if you do have to spend an exorbitant amount to actually gain any points. Free things? Yes! Things to fill the card spots in my wallet? Double yes!

So far my Boost card has been well and truly worth it – I’ve had at least 5 or 6 free Boost juices and two free ones on my birthday. And I’m liking my Cinebuzz card – free movies just for going to the movies? Yay! Can’t wait till my card upgrades to VIP status and I start earning points even more quickly!

Alarmingly, that number of free Boosts I have spent upwards of $300 on Boost over the past 3 years. And the fact that I am even eligible for VIP status says a lot about my discretionary spending habits – you have to see a lot of movies to get that. I get the feeling that though loyalty cards make you feel like you’re saving, in the end, the company gains a lot more – your choice to shop at their store rather than another, and plenty of personal information about your spending habits.

So perhaps my loyalty cards won’t save me that much money in the end, and maybe they do mean that people are using my information to fuel our consumer-driven society… but they are fun, and if they mean I can get a free juice once or twice a year, I’m a nearly broke student. So I’m keen.

The future

Last night, I found out that I got into the University of Sydney's Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications).

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

Sorry about the outburst, but I am so excited!! I have wanted to study this course for nearly five years, and I was so nervous about getting in I had my eyes shut while the UAC page loaded and then jumped round the house screaming when I found out.

So FINALLY the HSC is done with! My ATAR and my marks don't even matter anymore, and I can just get on with the future! The future used to be something which really terrified me, but now I'm starting to feel a lot better about it all.

I used to be scared about losing my friends as we all went off to different universities, which I guess does still worry me, but now I'm much more convinced that we will make an effort in touch. I also used to be scared about a change in routine, but now I can't wait to make university the main way I fill my days. And I used to be scared about making my way in the difficult field of media, but now I can't wait to do internships and work experience and just get as much experience as I possibly can!

I now can't wait for the future - for uni and new friends and enriching opportunities. But I'll also still be blogging here, hopefully even more frequently and about really interesting and mature things ;) Hopefully this will be the last squeal-y post on my blog!

6 things I sometimes wonder but haven't looked up the answer

1. Do celebrities/politicians use social networks for their own private purposes? If so, do they do it under pseudonyms? I mean, can you imagine Julia Gillard using Facebook of her own accord, chatting with her friends from high school, updating her status? I think really high-profile people, when they become high-profile, might just have to sacrifice their private online identity in order to protect their privacy. On another note, imagine the contrasting status updates: Julia Gillard is facing the problems of Australia alongside John Smith is making homemade pizza for dinner. Poor John might feel a bit like his life doesn't matter so much.
   
2. Do my cats understand the concept of a 'bed'? In fact, do they understand the concept of furniture having different, specific purposes at all? I sometimes feel like, when they come into my room to wake me up in the morning, they stand there at look at me thinking 'why is she sleeping here every night? What about some variation! We sleep all over the place!' Also, I'm pretty sure they don't understand why they're allowed to stand on the desk but not the dining room table. Poor things. It must be hard to have a brain the size of a cherry tomato.
3. Why do storms almost always happen at 3.30 in the afternoon, when parents are trying to get their kids home from school? Do the clouds intentionally wait until parents are just about to leave to start their evil grumbling, just to make everything ten times harder with raincoats and umbrellas and wet school shoes everywhere?
4. Why do some colours look better together than others? Blue looks good with almost anything, but green and purple clash horribly, and so do some shades of red and pink. Why? On another note, why is it acceptable to not count denim as a colour? You wouldn't wear a bright purple shirt with bright blue pants, unless you were really daring and willing to risk looking like a clown, but when those pants are blue jeans, the problem doesn't exist!
5. Why make clocks tick? I took the batteries out of a ticking clock at a sleepover once, because I couldn't stand it. WHY WHY WHY. Perhaps once it was necessary, but NOT NOW. Now it's just irritating.
   
6. What makes us like some foods, but not others? I'm not talking about really out-there things like chilli, or overly sweet or sour foods, but why does my dad hate tuna? Why don't I like tarragon or pumpkin? What part of my brain determines what flavours I find appealing, and why?

Maybe I should look these things up instead of just wondering. Although in some ways, I sort of enjoy not knowing. It certainly helps my imagination!